|
|
|
|
|
Light This City - Facing The Thousand
(Prosthetic) Review by Ryan Bartek |
 |
In the endless sea of bands that attach a lil' bit of
oldschool melodic thrash to the hipster metal arena, Light
This City are an anomaly. They actually sound like they grew
up listening to Sodom and Kreator, as opposed to being blown
out of the water three years ago by Darkest Hour. Sure, they
have the raging newschool melodic hardcore stuff, but it's far
more streamlined and mean. There are actually blastbeats for
one, and totally rampant duel guitar work. I actually like
this band, after having to sit through thousands of lesser
prototypes. They are better and tighter than they're
contemporaries, flat out. Facing The Thousand is their third
album and will no doubt solidify them among their peers as one
of |
the
leading forces on that side of the fence. I didn't even
realize this was a female singer until I decided to flip
through the booklet. Way better than Angela Gossow from Arch
Enemy or the one-scream-wonder of Walls of Jericho. Nichol has
range, and she's savage. On top of that no ballads, clean
vocals, or lazy hardcore breakdown or sing-a-long gang chant.
Facing the Thousand is high octane Gothenburg worship at its
finest.
www.lightthiscity.com |
| |
|
Liv Kristine -
Enter My Religion (Abstract Sounds/Roadrunner)
Review by Steve Green |
 |
Liv Kristine, she of the beautiful soprano voice that has
enchanted our ears singing for Theatre of Tragedy and Leaves'
Eyes. If you think you are familiar with this ladies fine
voice, then think again. This is Liv Kristine the pop star.
Pop probably isn't the correct terminology to use, but Enter
My Religion is such a departure from her day job, that the
only reason this album is getting reviewed here is because of
my love for Liv's work. Whatever guise this album is filed
under, the one thing you can be assured of is it's quality.
As you'd expect, this album is flawless in it's execution. The
production duties were handled at Mastersound, but it sounds
nothing like a Mastersound production. If anything, it's even
|
clearer than you'd expect. Everything shines through with
startling clarity. But maybe some of that is down to the
different instruments used. The guitars are most definitely
not to the fore (acoustic guitars and sitars are there
instead). And to be honest, nor are the vocals. Liv's style is
much more relaxed than her normal soprano range (which only
makes a brief appearance on the intro to My Revelation). Enter
My Religion is an album based on songs and lush melodies,
rather than vocal dominance. Fake A Smile is pure aural
indulgence and although to me, not an obvious choice for a
single, it is a beautiful song. Much more poppy and with hit
potential written all over it is All The Time In The World.
Admittedly not my favourite song on the album, it does have a
Beatles style melody, with a guitar lick that I've heard
performed by more commercial bands (and no names as I don't
listen to such bands, but I'll say Texas if I'm pushed) Fans
of Leaves' Eyes will be semi-pleased with arrival of Liv's
more familiar style on My Revelation, but it's Trapped In Your
Labyrinth that'll have the screaming hordes, well screaming,
as it's much more in keeping with the grandeur of Leaves'
Eyes. To me it's the best song on the album by a
mile.
The two biggest "revelations" are towards the end of the
album. A cover of Bruce Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia
took me completely by surprise and despite my reservations
before I actually heard it, I have to admit, it suits Liv's
voice perfectly. You Take Me Higher is definitely the biggest
shock of all though. It's pure dance music, but done in a
Madonna type way (kinda like her Beautiful Stranger hit - wish
I have to admit is one of my favourite songs of all time) The
Missus turned her nose up when I played this to her and I'm
sure so will most staunch Metalheads... but I have to confess a
guilty secret, I really like the chorus.
Obviously this is an album for the more discerning listener
with a broad taste in music. Your average Satanic goat killing
Neanderthal is going to spit out blood and guts in disgust.
But for those with more ethereal tastes and of course those
who are already fans of Liv Kristine's work, you'll find
plenty to enjoy here.
www.livkristine.com |
| |
|
Majesty - Hellforces (Locomotive Records)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
These Germans have four albums under their belts and from what
I conjured up, this is true metal that fans the world over clamour for every time unless you are a fan of Manowar and
dismiss them as a poor man’s version and I can actually hear
this. The title track is actually quite blistering with the
consistent, but heavy duty double bass drumming and the guitar
work is sharp, but unimaginative. Lead vocalist Tarek does
have his screams down pat that mimic Eric Adams and I am not
too sure if that’s a good thing or bad. Good harmonies are
utilized during the chorus, but other than that it’s run of
the mill true power metal. The solo shreds, but so what. You
have heard this a million times over. “Dance With The Demon”
is |
| haunting
filled with chants and a slower beat that is akin to one of
Axel Rudi Pell’s epic tracks, but cut down in half time wise.
I don’t care how much the songs are varied from start to
finish everyone has been down that path before and quite
frankly most of the other bands visited those roads back in
the early to mid 80’s and have progressed greatly. Majesty
don’t plan to add any originality to the mix any time soon.
These are not true epic songs or all that memorable, but to
their credit the production is superb. If you must have this,
then so be it, but otherwise, I would save my money and buy
something else. The cheese factor on this one is at a ten and
with a title like “Hellforces” it’s not all that strong or
evil.
www.locomotiverecords.com
| http://truemetal.org/majesty/
|
| |
|
Manowar - The Sons Of
Odin (SPV)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
This band is so funny because they only release a full length
every four plus years and in between that time you wonder what
the hell do they do once the record is released and their tour
concludes? Well, it looks like the end of 2006 and throughout
2007 they are going to be extremely occupied. First off is
this very E.P. that I am going to review. It’s considered to
be the “Immortal Edition” which means that besides the five
tracks offered on here, there is a sampler DVD with over an
hour of material. More on that in a bit. The audio portion
offered is two live clips from the forthcoming live
“Earthshaker Fest 2005” double CD/DVD. “The Ascension”
featuring an epic movie score soundtrack completed |
with
timpani's and narration is here before blasting off into “King
Of Kings” The mix on here is terrible as the double bass
drumming on here absolutely drowns out the guitars and bass.
Only Eric Adams dramatic singing and screaming and Scott
Columbus’ drumming can be heard loud and clear. This stuff is
so over dramatic that it’s funny. Three new cuts are on the
menu here as well. These are songs that will be served up on
the new CD when released. “Odin” is another grandiose movie
score that prepares for “Gods Of War” and “The Sons Of Odin.”
“G.O.W.” is slow, but bombastic and filled with overkill as
usual. The guitars are supped up for “T.S.O.O.” It’s mid
paced, but chock full of heavy drum slamming and an intense
rhythm section. Blind Guardian worshippers should cream in
their pants over this as always. The DVD portion is
interesting because there is a thirty five minute fan
convention docu that details everything about how this came
about in The Netherlands. You will get exclusive footage of
the gang performing “Heart Of Steel” with a full on orchestra
at rehearsal getting a raw performance long before everything
gets polished up for the main event. A slideshow completes
this with the five same tracks as the CD available as
background and in 5.1 surround. I have to hand it to the guys.
They do nothing half assed. They will give the fans what they
want and do it right. They do care and it’s worth your dough
if you are into them.
www.spvusa.com
| www.manowar.com |
| |
|
Microwaves - Contagion Heuristic
(Crucial Blast) Review by Ryan Bartek |
 |
Somewhere in a parallel 1980s universe, deep in the workshop
of Mr Wizard, there is a small hole in the wall of his
laboratory. As the camera pans into it's hidden realm, just as
the classic beginning of Fraggle Rock, there are Doozer-like
creatures working in unison creating a symphony from his
stolen bits of his equipment. They bang on electrodes, they
slice the guts from microwaves and toasters and amplify them
through microphone chords. They nab old NES games and enter
schizophrenic, nonsensical Game Genie codes for Karnov and
tape the scrambled soundtrack, patching bits of the crank
through Fruity Loops and other such manipulations. They
hot-wire vacuum cleaners like hot rods and |
|
electrify dust devils. In front of this is a small band of the
creatures, jamming away equal parts Fugazi and The Boredoms, the Quasi-Doozers
gyrate violently in worship of their subterranean rock and
roll gods... At least this is what I dreamt up when I fell
asleep with Contagion Heuristic playing on my radio. Madness
for sure, but the closest comparison I can offer. This band is
fuckin' weird. Usually things like this are potshots of
slaphappy noise. Microwaves take that whole background of
displaced blips and bleeps and use them as an ambient blanket
to secure a solid base for some catchy songwriting. At times
it's a hyperactive, futuristic bent on The Melvins' Gluey
Porch Treatments, other times a non-jazz instrumented Yakuza,
other moments pure Frank Zappa. Yet it rocks, and the moog-esque
assault wipes out your brain like a defibrillator to the
temple. Never heard anything exactly like it, but it sure is
maniacal.
www.myspace.com/microwaves |
| |
|
Mnemic - Passenger (Nuclear Blast) Review by Andrew Doherty |
 |
I remember seeing Mnemic play at the Underworld two or three
years ago, not long after the release of their first album
“Mechanical Spin Phenomenon”. Two guys in front of me were
trying to grasp what they had seen. Cyber metal and Electro
metal were the descriptions given at the time, as I recall,
but with a strong element of heavy hardcore, anthemic choruses
and harmonies. The Danish version of the New Wave of American
Heavy Metal, if that makes any sense. Whilst “Mechanical Spin
Phenomenon” had a couple of exceptional tracks and the rest
was fairly unmemorable, the 2004 follow-up “The Audio Injected
Soul” was superb, maintaining interest throughout (apart from
a rather tedious |
cover of
“Wild Boys” at the end) and high levels of energy which are
characterised in their live performances. Now we have
“Passenger”. It certainly contains the trademark Mnemic sound … and less. Appropriately for the
style, it was recorded in the USA, with production from the
guys who deal with Fear Factory, Down and Crowbar. OK, it’s a
good album to listen to if you’re feeling crap because it will
blow you away with its heaviness, the guitar work is
unrelenting and razor-sharp, but where’s the interest? Unlike
the two previous albums, I was unable to find a killer track
on it or anything rising above the ordinary. I don’t mind
being screamed at angrily, and to be fair the band’s new
vocalist Guillaume Bideau (ex Scarve) does it well, but
relentless heaviness without interruption doesn’t do it for me
and is generally less effective, I find. Even the harmonies
sound contrived compared to “The Audio Injected Soul” on which
they fit in better. Gone are the epic moments of “ordinary”
tracks like Mindsaver, the outerworldliness of Deathbox and
the seamless changes of style and pace. I guess that with
track titles like the intro “Humanaut” and its sample and
other odd moments, Mnemic still have Cyber metal on the
agenda. The band are apparently fans of the cult film “2001: A
Space Odyssey” and the album has an Existential theme but it’s
hard to detect that other than through some of the track
titles and maybe the negative slant of the vocal styles, if
you listen hard enough. The second track “In the Nothingness
Black” threatened to have a synthetic sound running through it
but developed into hardcore nothingness with a fairly bland
harmonised chorus. “Meaningless” would have been anonymous if
not for a brief guitar solo and a short spoken part, but both
were too short to have any impact on this nondescript track.
“Psykorgasm” had the makings of an epic track but again apart
from a brief “cyber” interlude, the anger was mixed with
harmonies to no obvious purpose. This one sounded like the
previous track and this was the problem I was having.
“Pigf*ck” started promisingly with an insistent guitar riff
running through more anger but this time with the cries of a
gladiatorial crowd and a few pained harmonies. This was one of
the best tracks, not too long and a potential crowd-pleaser.
“In Control” had the makings of a decent track with better
harmonies, a moment to headbang before a neat electro-metal
programmed ending. Apart from the odd moment however, the
formula is the same and so it goes on to the last track “The
Eye on your Back” which winds down in well produced fashion
but by this stage the end was a relief. Yes, Mnemic succeed in
creating a wall of sound, but whilst it isn’t bad, there is
nothing special or memorable about “Passenger”. My advice to
anyone is to get the excellent “Audio Injected Soul” and
unless you are obsessed with the American New Wave hardcore
style, then just wait until Mnemic’s next release when
hopefully they’ll have more cutting-edge ideas with which to
entice us.
www.nuclearblast.de
| www.mnemic.com |
| |
|
Mob Rules –
Ethnolution A.D. (SPV) Review by James Young |
 |
I must say I had never heard of the German melodic metal
outfit going by the name of ‘Mob Rules’, which is surprising
considering they’ve existed for over ten years, in which time
they’ve put out five albums (this their sixth) and a live DVD.
Anyway, there’s no time like the present to jump on the
bandwagon, and no better place to start than with the new
album Ethnolution A.D., a work of epic proportions. To start
things off in grandiose fashion, the disc starts with an
ambitious twenty-five minute long multi-song, ‘Ethnolution
A.D.’. Held together more by themes than style, the song
bursts with political concepts, dealing with everything from
the Middle East conflict to the fall of the Berlin Wall (I
said it was |
ambitious…). You probably wouldn’t be able to tell that this
six-track concept song was meant to be treated as a separate
entity, as the types of metal on display are fairly diverse,
giving a nice showcase of all the different powers of, well,
power metal. ‘Unholy War’ and ‘Ashes To Ashes’ are nice
anthem-based stomp-alongs, with no synths spared in the
making, including powerful vocals from Klaus Dirks,
reminiscent of all the German greats from Edguy to Gamma Ray.
Strong choruses and epic solos characterise these two tracks,
with a slightly more progressive edge to the marching anthem
of ‘Ashes To Ashes’, boasting a progressive Queensryche edge.
‘Fuel To The Fire’ speeds things up a notch, with a thrashy
approach to the drumming, harking back to the early days of Helloween, although an impressive keyboard solo stamps the
band’s own distinctive mark on proceedings. ‘The Last
Farewell’ returns to the earlier crushingly heavy anthemic
style, with some more bluesy influences creeping into the
solo, and even a sample at the end taken from a BBC news
report from Baghdad – very topical!
What follows this conceptual tour de force are a number of
songs, varying slightly less in terms of style, but still
serving as a ‘best of’ of melodic metal, mixing together all
the elements of the genre that we love and cherish (no more
hints of BBC news though). A symphony which makes Nightwish
sound timid by comparison is heard pumping throughout tracks
including ‘Day And A Lifetime’, which doubles the musical
impact alongside Dirks’ mighty voice. In addition, the twiddly
guitar leads of Lüdke during these later tracks take more of a
prominent role than the earlier slower numbers, providing a
more complex-sounding edge to ‘River Of Pain’ and ‘New
Horizon’ amongst the general melodic majesty. A couple of
tracks stand out from the rest, the tender ‘With Sparrows’
employing a gospel choir to provide the closing moments, and
‘Ain’t The One’ incorporating Oriental influences into its
sound, providing an uplifting and exotic feel to the
traditional melodic metal of the band. A bold number, ‘Better
Morning’ finishes the album, the classical symphonies of which
provide a backdrop to gentle, ballad-like vocal harmonies. The
lack of a big climactic finish was a bit of a surprise, the
band maturely opting to end on a quiet note, but this reflects
the class of the band, not going for the obvious finish.
No doubt a high-quality band, the originality of Mob Rules
could be questioned, adding very little new to melodic metal
as a whole. In terms of providing an epic album however, with
top-notch musicianship and a great sound, which isn’t afraid
to show a variety of influences (including the BBC for
goodness sake), you couldn’t really do much better. This has
been James Young reporting for Live4Metal – now back to the
studio…
www.mobrules.de |
www.spv.de |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
